ADAM Of The Blood
by Omicron the IceQueen
Summary: Rapture is both a manmade miracle and a living nightmare, forever beyond the times, the best and worst of humankind. But this nightmare is the kind that will never leave or die. People of the surface long for and fear the city that takes their children.
1. Prolouge

ADAM Of The Blood

Prologue

The not so tall but still lean and lithe being was sitting on a metal reinforcing beam or 'rafter' but it was neither completely relaxed nor tensed up. The being, female in shape, was as much a monster and sin of her world as a miracle of science. Currently she was hunched over and focusing most of her attention on what she was carefully holding, a blue crayon in her right hand (trying not to brake it with her claws, crayons were so small now) as she doodled on her knee pad. Jellyfish were funny looking, thus had to be drawn.

Every now and again the Big Sister (for that's what she was) would sit up and/or hop into a crouched pose, intently staring downwards at a person or Splicer that came wondering by, attracted by the sounds and movement. If there was nothing Wrong being done she would lose interest and return to doodling, after a while starting to draw on the beam itself.

She wasn't the only Big Sister to have drawn doodles up here in the rafters, there were little scribbled here and there. Bright colorfully fish and anemones, 'angles' they have seen...but some of the pictures would be considered graphic to anyone who came from the surface.

Some of the drawings where more pictographs, one or more drawings telling a bloody story. Such as one long set had a little girl with solid yellow eyes walking with a man in a diving helmet hand in hand, next picture was the helmeted man laying down with red scribbled all over it with man-like monsters, the next was the man-like monsters holding the little girl up. The last had another helmeted man with the girl on his head as he stood on the laying down man-like monsters with red all over the bottom of the picture and yellow sea flowers on the top.

There were others to, like and unlike that, random drawings of sea life, dead pets, and in one corner a drawing of two large tombstones with rough, child writing of 'Mom-e' and 'Daddy' with teddy bears. Each of the faded stuffed toys were worse for wear, having suffered many stabbings of large or small needles as metal condition took over, or when a Big Sister regressed.

The ADAM gathers of Rapture, big or little were as innocent as they were twisted. The elder gathers roamed around enforcing the will of Lamb as much as finding ADAM, the lifeblood of their home.

At the moment, the Big Sister in the rafters rocked up onto hands and knees before balancing on the balls of her feet, inserting her crayon into a spot in the straps that kept her needle in place on her arm. Moving with a sudden restlessness she passed in the rafters before dropping down to the floor.

The Big Sister hummed softly in her helmet as she investigated the nearest vent, memories of being small enough to crawl inside trickling into her mind. Making a sound of longing she reached in with her clawed hand but couldn't truly get it without her armor and diving helmet, things she didn't want to take off. This wasn't the Big Daddy bay or 'home.'

"Daaaddyyyy..." the word barely came out of the helmet, as it were the voice speaking was only vaguely female. The already metallic tones of her voice were further distorted by the metal and glass.

The Big Sister pulled her arm out and attempted to look into the vent now, searching for the telltale sign of glowing yellow eyes. Letting out of whistle like tone of question, she fisted her hands and thumped them in unison on the metal of the vent, _almost_ able to get the same reverberation of a Big Daddy's summons.

Silence stretched, only the soft dripping of a leak somewhere in the background. There was a crackle from the public address system and a certain song started playing that had the Big Sister's complete attention.

The current nightmare of Rapture took off. The lingering memories of being a Little Sister were shunted to the metaphorical back burning as the Big Sister vanished into a cloud of purple tinted mist. Returning to her 'home' with four other Big Sisters at the musical summons.

Time to go to the surface again.


	2. What started it all

**ADAM Of The Blood**

Chapter One:

What started it all...

Eleanor watch her stressing, agitated sister pace around the lobby they were in, "Calm down Maria, you'll attract mother-"

"Wrong!" The suited and armored Big Sister yelled, waving her arms, her helmet grasped in her clawed right hand and the long needle/blade waving as well. It made the slightly older Eleanor duck out of the way. The Sister's yellow shined eyes wide in a mix of feelings from terrified, confusion and worry.

"It's not wrong." Eleanor insisted, "It'll be a good backup plan. Don't you want to help me sister?"

The full fledged Big Sister, Maria as the other teen had called her, paused her prowl like paces and looked back. Unlike Splicers, Sister (big or little) weren't affected be the cosmetic damages of the ADAM them both absorbed and ingested. So Maria's face was that of about 18, though had a more unearthly grayish tone of someone who lived most of their life with a slug implanted in their stomach. Her rusty red hair had been hacked short for when she was first sealed into the Big Sister Helmet, thanks to her slug in some odd way her hair had grown out several times and only this last time had she made a fuss about it being cut. Sophia Lamb had aloud it (it may have had something to do with the fact Maria was waving her upgraded gather's needle around and fire-balling things in the kind of temper that made all the local Splicer's flee), even combing it out herself and putting it in a flat 'fold,' tied with a shorter ribbon than what was used for the Little Sister's in order for the helmet to fit over without caching.

That of course had three other Big Sisters wanting the same treatment before going up to the surface world, leaving Eleanor with this opportunity. Because one didn't really mess with somewhat unstable hormone addled teenagers that could do as much damage to the world as a _very upset_ Big Daddy that didn't like you.

Eleanor grabbed Maria's left hand, and the Sister stilled, not wanting to impale the other teen despite the half request, half order. "Sister, it won't kill me."

"But it's wrooooong...!" Maria whined frowning, "You're not an angel, you're Big Sister Eleanor! I can't-"

The dark haired teen interrupting, "Yes you _can_. Don't you want father, daddy back?"

Maria shifted uncomfortably, shuffling her feet and turning her yellow shined eyes down. Mumbling something under her breath that was an agreement. "But I'll be hurting you..."

"I'll heal." Eleanor said, carefully controlling her face, "I'm still a Sister, just like you, just like the others, I have the 'squishy' thing inside. I'll heal." The first Sister ever made reached up and hugged the Big Sister, "I need you Maria."

It was true, Maria, though a Big Sister was one of the first generation of the Big Sisters ever made. Eleanor knew that meant her 'sister' had more mental lucidity than others of her kind. The Little Sister and Big Sister programming clashing and almost canceling out each other. That's what the dark haired teen needed and was hoping to crack, or try to, what metal conditioning was left over.

"Please?" Eleanor ask, reaching out through that empathy link she had with all sisters and _nudged_ and _pushed_ until Maria gave a defeated sigh.

Dropping her helmet, Maria used her now freehand to hold onto Eleanor's shoulder. The older teen managed not to gasp as she was half impaled a moment later. The jar attached to the Big Sister's needle started filling with fresh blood before Maria jumped back and away. Watching nervously until Eleanor forced a smile after her slug healed her.

"See? All better," Eleanor lifted her blood stained dress to show her unmarred stomach, "Don't drink that ADAM Maria, absorb it. You'll know what to do when you get back."

Maria just stood there, shifting and looking guilty in a way that made Eleanor glad the Big Sister would have her helmet on when she saw the 'mother' of the Rapture Family. Eleanor bent to swoop out the dropped helmet, hearing the telltale sound of the Big Sister absorbing the new ADAM, for a moment she stared at the helmet in her hands. Feeling the longing for her father as she was reminded of Delta's armor. Lost for a moment in memories of the days wandering around in the city in the hazy artificial, happy daze of the Little Sister's world, thriving in her father's love...Eleanor was started with the helmet's owner took it back and up it back on.

Eleanor shook herself mentally, "You'll know what to do when you get back." She said with confidence.

The fully armored Big Sister wavered for a moment, sorting out some of the stronger memories from the ADAM she just got. Maria shook herself, the yellow porthole looking at Eleanor before Maria teleported away.

Eleanor very quickly ran off to change and get rid of the now bloody dress she had on.

A very quiet and thoughtful Big Sister rode up alone in a bathysphere to the surface. She had gotten last minute order to retrieve a specific girl, something odd in itself since thus far the elder Sisters had been giving free range to pick who they thought would be a 'good little girl that gathers.' Spending a few days watching to be sure, but not this time... the Mother of The People had told Maria where to go and who to get in addition to the other three soon to be Little Sisters she was supposed to.

Maria pulled out her blue crayon from the improvised holding spot under a strap on her left arm, she absent mindedly doodled on the metal on her left forearm, slowly sorting out her new ADAM given memories. Fleeting snippets of being with a Big Daddy- not hers, Eleanor's? Working in engineering. One individual with blind faith, another a desire for power and yet another willing to do anything for the city... to name a few things. It all cycled back to Eleanor's Daddy again by the time the Bathysphere broke the surface and opened into the night air.

After she was done here- so not to raised suspicions, Maria would help Eleanor...yet something _snapped_ in the back of the Big Sister's mind and the world as she saw it wasn't quite so hazy anymore.


	3. Gathering of another kind

**ADAM Of The Blood**

Chapter Two:

Gathering of another kind

Maria didn't like it on the surface, it was too bright in the day, and the wrong color at night with all the stars and the moon. But the worst thing to her and to most of the other Big Sisters sent above, it was just _too big_. It creped Maria out, she had always known the security of metal walls and the presser of the water. Even the air on the surface was too thin, yet... there were interesting new smells when the Sister took off her helmet.

There was also some good things to nibble on, though Maria couldn't eat too much because of the slug in her stomach. Even back when she was younger and actively harvesting in Fort Frolic, Maria couldn't eat much. She also had ADAM in his belly at the moment to boot.

Yet this wasn't the large Fort Frolic of Maria's youth or Pappra' Drop that she patrolled most. This was the Surface world, so wide open with a sky so big it was like you could fall up into it- and with it being _air_ you couldn't swim at all.

The Big Sister shivered in her armored diving suit, feeling the reassuring rough marital through the undergarment.

Shoving those thoughts away, Maria took careful stock of the beach below her down the hill and the surrounding area. The sun was dipping under the distant watery horizon, the night at least was more comforting, if one ignored the stars yet there were clouds rolling in. Maria waited with half lidded eyes in her tree, crouching on the branch and hidden mostly from sight. She was far enough outside of the town and away from the rural areas that passer-bys weren't an issue, yet close enough that as soon as it became dark enough she wouldn't have that far to run.

Maria would have to move fast, four girls in one week... what a wonderful time.

An hour later she shifted and launched off the branch, up into the air and landed lightly on another branch. From there to the ground and Maria's lean form was running, _truly_ running full out. That was probably the only other thing that was nice about the surface world, able to run without worrying about running into a wall or running out of room and forced to teleport.

Maria was almost to the home of her only assigned girl to abduct... than it started raining. The Big Sister let out a high howling sound and jerked to one sides, gathering her EVE to teleport to safety away from the leek-

...the leek...in the sky...?

Oh.

Oops.

Blushing inside her helmet, Maria pretended she didn't just have a panic attack. At least she didn't start fire-balling like made such as Marsha did whenever she was startled. After assuring herself a few time in a row that the water falling from the sky didn't mean something was going to collapse on top of her, Maria got her running rhythm back. In the dark before the moon rose she dared to come closer to houses and a farm until she was at the new beach. Racing out onto a long dock she slowed enough to turn around twice on the dock, memorizing as a place to teleport back to after getting her target.

Maria didn't stop and dove into the safety of Atlantic waters, like her Sisters able to swim almost as well as she could run. To the north a mile and the Big Sister surfaced in front of seaside residence, she kept her eyes half lidded to keep the glow of her porthole down.

Once the area was deemed clear, Maria walked out of the sea. Water ran down her suit in streams and drips as each foot was carefully place in the countless if pebbles and rocks of the beach until she was in the more sound repressing sand. The house in front of her wasn't large, only one story tall but sprawling out a bit.

Pretty straight forward.

Maria carefully patrolled around the house, crouched low and her upgraded needle and blade lifted. Moving like the Rapture made predator she was, the Big Sister peered into each window she came across until she found a room that was similarly decorated to the ones in the orphanage so long ago, a bit different but the little form sleeping confirmed it.

Taking a step back and pulling on some raw EVE in her blood stream and vanished in a puff of purple mist, only to reaper on the other side of the wall inside the room. Crouching low, Maria waited for any reactions, like a gunshot to the back, plasmid...

Oh right, surface people didn't have plasmids and didn't horde their children like those of Rapture did to try and keep them safe. Though honestly, Maria couldn't think of a safe place than with Mr. Bubbles, daddy. Granted she had to share her stomach but Sisters could make ADAM, so there!

Moving swiftly, the Big Sister took out a syringe from a pouch around her hips and moved to crouch down beside the small bed. Carefully of the larger needle on her left arm and placed her hand over the child's mouth as she injected the sedative. Dropping the smaller needle Maria held the young girl until she was completely unconscious. The Big Sister withdrew her arms, after a moment she used a claw tip of her right hand to brush aside some of the orange hair on the six year old.

It was an interesting color, an uncommon color with most Sisters having darker colored hair in shades of black, brown and rusty red like Maria had. But why had the Mother of the Family wanted a girl like this?

...some part of her new ADAM given memories said something about new genetics.

Shrugging, the Big Sister put the used syringe away- they weren't supposed to leave anything behind- Maria lifted the six year old up and half using her telekinesis to settle the soon to be new Little Sister in the elder gatherer's basket. Rolling her shoulders to be sure the her current passenger was settled, Maria teleported back outside.

She was started to run when someone yelled out a, "Hey you!"

The Big Sister spun around with a sound that was a mix of a snarl and hiss, automatically lifted her needle/blade.

The man, with the same orange-ish color, standing at six foot something. Taller than the Big Sister at the moment but the man leaped back as Maria let out one of the nerve-rattling screams of her kind and took off, confident that a normal human's sight wasn't nearly as good as a splicer let alone a Sister.

At least she got the first girl on the first night.


	4. Searching

**ADAM Of The Blood**

Chapter Three:

Searching

Maria stepped lightly around a pool of rusty water, taking note of the leek in the window in front of her. It wasn't life threatening, yet, but enough to leave word with the nearest un-bonded Big Daddy to fix it after she did this for Eleanor.

She was back in Rapture, both glad to be away from the too-open surface and leery of Splicers. Splicers that she was actually supposed to be stalking right now. Picking off the strongest, the most insane, the largest threats to her Little Sister (and Brother) cozens. Yet she wasn't... because Maria had promised Eleanor.

Some part of the Big Sister felt the twangs of envy and long ago grief. Eleanor was getting her Daddy back, Maria was helping the first bonded Sister to do so... yet what about Maria's first Daddy? _Her_ protector from her earliest memories of walking, or dancing ahead of her guardian in Fort Frolic?

The Big Sister started grumbling in her helmet, at least until a small form shifted in the basket on her back, and then a just as small hand pat against the side of Maria's helmet, "Sister?"

Maria automatically started humming to reassure the Little Sister. At the same time realizing she really didn't need a protector _now_ (yet that didn't stop many near-death splicer attacks growing up), seeing as she was one. Maria was a Big Sister! An enforcer of Rapture and member of the _Family_—

-...or was she?

That was something to think about. Even though Maria had done lots of thinking and sorting out of ADAM given memories on the trip up to the surface and back again with her assigned three girls, plus one more. That Cindy child the Big Sister had taken after she'd been photographed.

"Over this way sister!" The light, metallic voice of the Little Sister in Maria's basket said, and Natasha excitedly drummed her hands on the metal clad shoulder. The Big Sister obligingly turned left, still stepping as soundless as she could, her pace half speed from normal. "There it is...awwwww! It's all icy!"

Maria stopped at the top of the staircase the hall way they just came from led to. It was one of the 'grand' staircases, with balconies and over hangs that stubbornly held to the sides of the large room. It had led down into another level of this section of Rapture, but many years ago the cooling systems of this sector must have overloaded. That coupled with a leek from a fresh water pipe above had incased the lower lever in anywhere from five to seven feet of ice before the leek froze up as well.

"_Ket-..._" Maria 'said,' drawing out the sound to express her displeasure at the scene. More damage to report to the repair people... since, you know, this building [at least the lower half] was one of the places that purified and made drinking water. Little bit important that was.

Natasha giggled at the sound from the elder gather as she climbed up out of the basket and over the Big Sister's shoulder, mindful not to jab her with the gather's needle into Maria. The Little Sister laughed as she was easily caught, being swung up into the air with hands under her arms for a moment before being set down. Reaching up to grasp the elder Sister's hand Natasha tugged as she started for the stairs, "Come on Maria, Daddy's probably really cold. We have to go get him!"

Making a face in her helmet, Maria fallowed her charge down, bending over a little and finding she was counting the stairs. When she stepped onto the 38th step, she touched ice. The Big Sister tilted her head, at first watching Natasha skidding out and giggling as she slipped and slid on the relatively smooth ice. Then Maria slid out as well, guided by an ADAM given memory of how not to face-plant on her porthole as she moved, though Maria still kept her arms out stretched for added balance as she wavered a little.

...This wasn't so bad!

Eleanor could wait a few more minutes, Natasha was having so much fun after all. She was too!

At that moment Maria slipped, giving a yelp in her helmet as the Big Sister inadvertently fell into the splits. "_...Ooowwww..._" The metallic voice was still distorted but oddly came though. A Big Sister's armor wasn't supposed to do _this!_

The younger Natasha burst out laughing from where she herself had fallen on her rump. The girl wrapped her arms around her sides as she watched Maria face plant on her porthole and start grumbling again as she carefully started to shift her legs back the 'right' way so it looked like the Big Sister was laying down.

"Come one big sister," Natasha said when she filially slipped over to the sulking young woman. Crouch down and balanced on the balls of her feet, the Little Sister reached out with her free hand to pat Maria's helmet, "It's time to find Daddy! ...and my feet of cold-cold!"

Maria hummed as she pushed herself up onto her knees, pulling the child up into her arms before shuffling on her knees back over to the more stable and less slippery stairs. "_Haarrrr?_"

"This is the place!" Natasha insisted as she wiggled free and hopped up a few stairs, just as able to understand her 'big sisters' as she was able to understand Mr. Bubbles. Well...better since there was that link all Sisters shared.

"_Mmm...kah._" Maria replayed, eyeing all the ice again from the safety of the stairs, tilting her head one way and then the other before making a murring sound.

"You can make the icy go away," Natasha reached up to tug on the attached, upgraded needle/knife on the Big Sister's left arm. "Roast is like marshmallows! Make it go _phew!_" She held out her hands and an intense look of concentration came over her face.

A small poof of smoke and a tiny flame flickered beyond the Little Sister's outstretched fingers.

"Aww..." Natasha flung out her hands at the ice again, and squealed with delight as a roaring fireball splattered against the ice and melted a large indent into a pool of water. "Sister! Sister! Did you see what I did? Did you see?" The Little Sister jumped up and down back and forth in front of the elder gather, oblivious to the flames that were flickering out on Maria's right hand.

The Big Sister stooped, picking up Natasha in a hug before trotting half way back up the stairs, where it would be safe as she worked. The Big Sister came back to the ice buildup cracking her fingers as fire flickered and formed first over hands, and then arms. A fire storm erupted into the once great welcoming room.

As it ended up, the body wasn't there.

Maria was grumbling into her helmet again as she swam out of the hot water that she'd made by melting the ice. She didn't fully get out but only half way, just enough for the Little Sister to climb back into the basket, and then dived back down. It wasn't common knowledge that those with the implanted, altered slugs could survive without air in the water for a time, even survive the presser outside the city walls.

Not an extremely long time, especially for the young Sisters and few Brothers. Yet long enough in most cases it took to travel to one place to another.

Off to search again the two went, and after several hours (and many brakes so Natasha could recover in air) it ended up the body they where searching for was incased in ice...two doors down a hall from that first room.


End file.
